Migration and health: perspectives on immigrant women

This paper is based on a three‐year field study with Indo‐Canadian and Greek women immigrants in an English speaking region of Canada. I examine how women construct ‘concerns’ or ‘worries’ in their everyday lives, and point to the discrepancy between these concerns and those for which help is sought. Women's accounts show that their ongoing experiences with health professionals determine how they present the circumstances of their lives to them. I develop the argument that the sources of distress for women are located within a social context, and I use transcript materials Obtained in interviews with women to elucidate this point. I further argue that although health professionals have defined 'social problems’ as within the domain of health care, this very ‘care’ is shaped by the dominant ideologies which determine the subjective experiences of women in the context of their daily lives. Health care practices, then, are seen to be embedded within the broader socio‐cultural context, and in turn legitimize the dominant ideologies.